MPs who lose elections will be entitled to “golden goodbye” payments of more
than £30,000 under reforms to parliamentary expenses.

Despite being voted out by the electorate, politicians will be entitled to up to six months’ salary to help them adjust to life outside the Commons, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) said.

“Resettlement payments” were abolished in the wake of the expenses scandal, uncovered by The Daily Telegraph, amid widespread anger at rewards for MPs who had been caught with “their fingers in the till”.

But the funds have been reintroduced on an “interim” basis. Deposed MPs will be able to claim the allowances in the event of a snap election before 2015. A permanent policy on resettlement payments will be agreed next year.

After the last general election in 2010, long-serving MPs who were criticised over their excessive claims were entitled to up to 100 per cent of their salary when they left Parliament. Before he became Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, was among the most outspoken critics of the payments, which totalled more than £10 million.

Mr Clegg said at the time that he saw “no reason” why an MP who was sacked or decided to stand down should be “rewarded with a big, tax-free, lump sum payment”.

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Under the new system, MPs will be able to claim one month’s salary for every year they have worked, up to a maximum of six months, or almost £33,000.

The scheme will apply only if there is an election before 2015, when the next poll is expected. MPs who leave Parliament will continue to be entitled to claim back accommodation costs for up to two months, as well as any security and disability assistance they were claiming before they left.

Budgets for winding up their offices, including salaries for researchers and other staff, will be increased to £56,250 for MPs in the London area and £53,150 for those outside the capital.

In the past, winding-up allowances have been paid to a number of MPs who employed their spouses in their offices.

Several MPs who became peers after the election also claimed winding-up costs, despite being entitled to set up new offices just yards away from their former rooms in the House of Commons.

Sir Ian Kennedy, the IPSA chairman, said MPs will be allowed to increase their staffing budgets by up to £15 million a year in total under the new regime.

The annual staffing expenditure limit of £115,000 will rise to £137,200 for non-London MPs and £144,000 for those representing constituencies in the capital.

Sir Ian said the reforms would “help MPs to staff their offices more effectively”. “This will help them in the service they provide to their constituents,” he said. “I think it is right for staff, MPs and indeed all people who look to their MPs for assistance, that we take these steps.”

Responsibility for Commons expenses was passed to the IPSA following The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures of widespread abuse of the system and the lax approach taken by the Commons authorities. Other changes to the expenses policy included increasing accommodation budgets to reflect inflation and allowing MPs to display party political logos on their websites and still reclaim the cost of administering the websites.